1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to sleep shades adapted to cover the wearer""s eyes and having properties for inhibiting the passage of light throughout the shield to the eyes of the wearer.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Adequate sleep is essential to well being, for without sleep one is deprived of the natural benefits that it provides. Yet the modern era has created an artificial environment for large segments of the population that demands to sleep under natural or artificial light. The human sensory system is not at idle during sleep, but stays alert to protect the sleeper. While the amount of ambient light striking on the eyes is vastly reduced when the eyelids are closed, nevertheless, the eyes remain responsive to ambient light. A common situation is that of a passenger of an airplane who has no choice but to sleep under lighted conditions.
Unfortunately, sleeping habits and state of minds vary, more so in a closed social crowd such as that of an airplane. Some travelers sleep with their sun-glasses worn so as not to be seen with their eyelids closed. It is also common prevention to sleep or to fall to a state of semi-consciousness to be afraid to miss a meal or a snack service. It is the human perception of these habits which often make them want to maintain some degree of consciousness. This of course interferes with the ultimate desire to sleep for a prolonged period of time.
In accordance with the present invention is to provide a sleep shield adapted to facilitate the sleep state of a wearer with ascetically appealing means to effectively exclude ambient light from the eyes of the wearer.
And more particularly, an object of this invention is to provide a sleep shield of the above type which is made of opaque layers of soft fabric forming a substrata unit and an outer layer of clear flexible plastic sheeting attached thereto, and cooperate in a fashion to allow the insertion, retention, displaying and withdrawal of graphic art. The resulting sleep shield inhibits the visual aspect of various sleeping habits by providing the sleep shield with a number of more appealing displays of the eye section of the face and more ascetically acceptable. Various graphic art accessories can also be provided for the sleep shield to otherwise facilitate the sleeping period of time. The shield can be attached to the head of the user using one or more ties, elastic bands, straps and buckles as well known in the art.
The graphic accessories or inserts can also be printed with indicia illustrating such as plain color, open or closed eyes, eyebrows, spectacles, sunglasses, gender, and race of the user, or simple statements such as xe2x80x9cdo no disturbxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cwake me for meal service.xe2x80x9d The resulting sleep should provide better peace of mind of the user thus enhancing every aspect of the sleeping period of item, resulting in a more relaxed sleep.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent with a discussion of preferred embodiments in reference to the associated drawings.